


"Take my seat."

by LaLopez1981



Series: 100 Ways to Say I Love You [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: 100 Ways to Say I Love You Writing Challenge, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Dashingfrost - Freeform, Fandral has a crush, Fandroki - Freeform, Fluff and Humor, Homophobic Language, Loki is dealing with it, M/M, Mentions of Thor, Prompt #8, Prompt Fill, kids suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 17:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15823278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLopez1981/pseuds/LaLopez1981
Summary: Loki has to ride the bus home, but no one will let him take a seat. Fandral comes to his rescue.





	"Take my seat."

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, yeah...sorry. Block hit me again. Not sure how I got this and the next one out. Enjoy.
> 
> xoxo

Loki loathed the schoolbus. 

If Odin and Frigga would just trust him with a car, he wouldn’t have to depend on Thor to get home. Or suffer through the indignity of boarding the bus with the nerds and geeks of the freshman and sophomore variety. He wasn’t the only upperclassman who rode the bus, sure, but it was still embarrassing. 

_ That’s what you get for skipping class, you idiot _ , he scolded himself as the bus rattled to a stop in front of the school. 

Keeping his head down, Loki blended in with the horde of students moving as one giant mob toward the open doors of the bus. Shoved aside here and there, this way and that, Loki was one of the last to board. As he did, what felt like a million pairs of judgmental eyes rose toward him. Chin lifted, as if he were a member of royalty walking amongst the commoners, Loki made his way up the narrow aisle, keeping a close watch on the path in front of him for any books, backpacks, or darting feet.  His teeth clamped down, his cheeks muscles working as they ground together, when the whispered words of his classmates would reach his ears.  _ Fag. Gay. Homo. Queer. Freak.  _ He paused halfway up the aisle by a seat with one empty space. He shifted, as if to sit, when the girl sitting by the window dropped her book bag in the spot and none too kindly told him the seat was taken. 

_ Great, now you’re Forrest Gump _ , Loki thought with a slight sneer to the redhead who looked like she was twelve. Moving forward, Loki spotted another empty seat toward the back and headed for it. The boy sitting in the aisle seat told Loki he couldn’t sit there, before Loki could even open his mouth to ask. Too bothered to argue, Loki moved on, straight to the back where he spotted an empty seat by the aisle. He knew the boy sitting there. They’d been in the same class for years, but they weren’t friendly. He had an issue with Thor, so obviously, he had an issue with Thor’s little brother. Loki approached, a polite smile stretching his lips, and the boy — bigger since Loki last saw him — stated bluntly that Loki couldn’t sit there. To add insult to injury, or perhaps vice versa, Loki nearly fell to the floor as someone shoved him aside to take the seat instead. Loki glared at the tall girl as she sat and flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. About ready to pick a fight, Loki had steadied himself when he heard a voice pipe up behind him.

“Nice, Skurge. Don’t feel the need to be a dick or anything. Loki.” Loki tore his glare from Skurge and his apparent girlfriend, if them holding hands meant anything, to look at Fandral, someone else he’d known all his life, sitting in the seat across the aisle and one back. “Here. Take my seat.” He started to slide out.

“No, it’s fine. I can sit on the aisle.”

Fandral gave him a look, but chuckled, “You get dizzy when you don’t sit by the window.” He stood and motioned for Loki to slide in. More surprised than embarrassed Fandral knew that, Loki stared at him, but made no move. Until the bus driver yelled for them to sit down.  Loki shot a look at the driver, but moved quickly to sit and slide over to the window. He kept his gaze low, doing his best to take up as little space as possible once Fandral took his seat again.  “Hi,” Fandral greeted cheerfully as the bus lurched forward. Loki’s arm shot out to the seat in front of him to steady himself.

“Hello,” he murmured, barely looking at Fandral.

“No Thor today?” he wondered.

“Nope. Just me.” Loki’s tone was flat, his eyes on the window, watching blindly as the town passed by.

“Why’s that?”

Loki bit back a sigh. Not just because he knew it wasn’t Fandral’s fault he had to ride the bus or that everyone they went to school with were assholes. But, honestly, all anybody ever wanted to talk to him about was Thor. “I don’t know. He just said he had to stay after school today. I didn’t want to wait.”

“Makes sense.” Fandral turned his head the other way, and Loki glanced the same way, catching Skurge and his girlfriend whispering to each other and laughing, all while looking his and Fandral’s way. Loki frowned and returned his gaze to the window. “So, you going out for Spring play next week?”

The frown still on his face, Loki turned to give Fandral a look of surprise. “Um, maybe? I’m not sure.”

“Why not?”

Relaxing a little, Loki’s face cleared and he shrugged shyly. “It’s Shakespeare.”

Fandral grinned. “I thought you liked Shakespeare.”

“I do; to read. Acting it out?” He blew out a breath, his lips fluttering. “That’s another thing entirely.”

“You can do it,” Fandral encouraged him, laying a hand on his arm, giving it a light squeeze before letting go. Loki’s eyes shot directly to Fandral’s hand on him, then flicked up to his face. He eyed Fandral’s profile for moment, cocked a brow.

“You’re so sure?” His face didn’t change when Fandral looked at him, all bright blue eyes and a charming tilt to his lips. His facial hair was coming in more fully now, Loki noticed. His goatee was no longer just a pale blonde outline.

“Yes.” Fandral’s lips parted more — and, no, Loki was  _ not  _ staring — and he leaned into Loki. Before he could help himself, Loki leaned away. “You’re incredibly intelligent, Loki. You must know that.”

Loki scoffed, incredulous. His lashes lowered, his teeth bit into his bottom lip. “What does that have to do with acting out Shakespeare?”

“I don’t know,” Fandral answered lightly, shrugging, and smiling widely. “Something, I’m sure. You have to be your level of smart to be able to interpret Willy’s words for dumb high school guys like me.” Loki snickered at the nicknaming of the world’s greatest writer, but his grin faded at Fandral’s description of himself. Juvenile, maybe; that’s why Fandral and Thor had been friends since they were tykes, so Loki assumed. But he never thought Fandral to be dumb. “Either way, I’ve never known you to back down from a challenge.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Like that time Thor said you were too scared to skate down that grassy hill by Sif’s house?”

Loki’s hand stretched out to brace himself again as the bus pulled to a stop. “You remember that?”

“Yeah! I mean, I was hoping you wouldn’t take the bait, but…”

Remembering the feeling of flying down that hill, the fear that quickly turned to excitement, Loki breathed out a quiet laugh. “I broke my wrist.” Absently, he traced his fingers over the wrist in question, then realized Fandral was watching him and sat up straighter, shifting in his seat as the bus pulled to another stop and more kids left the bus.

“Give your boyfriend a kiss goodbye for me, Fanny,” Skurge teased as he passed, leaving the bus.

“Eat me, Skurge.” Loki shrunk into himself, feeling his cheeks go red. “Ignore them, Loki. Eventually, we’ll all be gone from here and they’ll realize how stupid they were.”

“No they won’t,” he said quietly.

“No. They won’t,” Fandral chuckled.

Loki looked out the window again, pressing the backs of his fingers to his warm cheeks, as the bus began to move again.

“You all right?” Fandral gave him a nudge with his elbow. Loki jerked slightly, because he happened to hit a ticklish spot, and cleared his throat before his quiet yelp was heard.

“I’m fine.”

“You know, Loki,” Fandral shifted in the seat so he was angled more toward Loki. “I’m not just Thor’s friend.”

Loki looked at Fandral, questioning, but unsure, he just looked away again. “I’m sure you’re a lot of people’s friends.”

Fandral giggled. “I meant I’m your friend too. I mean, I could be. If you want.”

The bus pulled to a stop again, and Loki snuck glances at more kids leaving the bus; if only to avoid looking at Fandral. As the bus started to move again, he chanced a peek at Fandral — and behind him realized the street Fandral lived on had just passed by. “Um. Wasn’t that your street?”

Fandral shrugged. “It’s fine. I can walk from your stop.”

Telling himself not to chicken out from looking directly at Fandral, the boy one street over whom Loki had always thought too pretty for his own good, Loki searched his eyes. “Why?” he asked finally.

“Make sure you get home okay,” he answered, as if it was obvious. He looked around the bus, saw there were only two other kids waiting. “I know you’re capable and all, but —”

“No.” Fandral looked at Loki. “Why do you want to be my friend? Aren’t I just Thor’s annoying little brother to you?” His eyes gradually lowered as he spoke.

“No. You’re Loki.”

Loki made a noise in his throat, his jaw tightening. “I don’t…Fandral, I’m not good with…making friends. No one notices me when Thor’s around anyway.”

A beat passed. “I do.” Loki’s jaw muscles clenched, but his eyes traveled Fandral’s way, never lifting enough to meet his gaze. “I know it’s hard,” he paused, hoping Loki would look up at him. He looked up, but away, out the window again. “Being around him. He’s so…bright. He’s like the sun. Warm and inviting. He outshines everyone, everything.”

Loki sighed audibly. He hated being pitied and he didn’t need to listen to Fandral fawn about his brother. He heard enough of that at home. “You don’t have to —”

“But I prefer the moon.” Fandral interrupted Loki, drawing his ire, but when he turned and found Fandral had leaned in again, and murmured his words quietly, intimately, all Loki could do was blink. “That silvery pale light, surrounded by darkness.”

Loki watched Fandral’s eyes move to his black hair.

“It tries, hard, to hide behind the clouds.”

Loki was holding his breath, he knew it. Then his belly did a somersault when Fandral moved his eyes back to his face. They were a striking blue, surrounded by long lashes a shade or two darker than the hair on his head, and locked on Loki’s, but for the split second they dropped to his mouth. “But sometimes it just can’t hide its brilliance.”

Loki finally let out his breath. Slowly, through his nose, and he forced himself not to squirm under Fandral’s stare. He didn’t know how long they sat like that, faces close enough that he could practically count the freckles sprinkled across Fandral’s nose and cheeks, and feel his breath fan over his face. But the voice of the bus driver calling for the last stop broke through the moment.  Loki glanced toward the front of the bus then back to Fandral again, expectantly, waiting for him to slide out. A smile curved Fandral’s lips and then he was standing, moving forward so Loki could follow. He quietly thanked the bus driver as he stepped off the bus. The other students left on the bus went on their way, and Loki, choosing to ignore everything that just happened, started toward his street. He refused to give Fandral another opportunity to confuse him.

He’d barely reached the end of the block before Fandral quickly caught up. “You mind if I walk with you?”

Loki stopped on the corner, resisting the urge to go off on Fandral, remembering he was one of Thor’s oldest friends. Steadying himself, and hopefully his voice, Loki faced Fandral and threw up his free hand. “What are you doing?”

“Taking the long way home seems like,” he joked, his face contorted from the sun shining in his eyes. Loki sighed, rolled his eyes, and started across the street. “Can I carry your books for you?”

“Norns, Fandral. If you come by window tonight, throwing rocks, and trying to serenade me, I will drop my computer on your head.”

Fandral, infuriatingly, giggled. “Noted.”

Once Loki reached the street, he stopped again and spun around, making Fandral jump back a step. “Fandral.” He muttered the name through clenched teeth. Fandral, to his credit, held up his hands in surrender.

“Don’t deck me…” Loki scoffed and Fandral laughed again, lowering his hands. “I've seen your right hook. I know the damage you could do to my pretty face. I promise, I’ll let you walk on alone.”

“Thank you.”

“If I can ask you one question.” Fandral smiled bright again after Loki turned back around. He groaned, but acquiesced. Fandral cleared his throat and adjusted his backpack. “What would you say…if I were to ask you to go with me to a movie? Maybe some food after? Tomorrow night?”

Loki stared for a long moment, trying to process all three questions. Crossing his arms, Loki huffed, visibly holding back his irritation. “Fandral. I know we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Whole lives?”

Loki nearly growled in exasperation. “Sure. Whatever. Fine. Aside from that, I really don’t appreciate being the butt of your joke or prank or whatever trick you’re trying to pull here.” Loki turned and started down the street again. He felt Fandral’s fingers wrap around his arm. Gentle, not grabbing, and Loki stopped again.

“It’s no trick, Loki.” Loki looked pointedly down at the hand on his arm. Fandral released him, but moved so they were facing each other better. “I generally leave those to you. You’re better at it. A master.” He smirked at his own joke, dropping it when he saw the frown on Loki’s face. He tried for a softer, more appealing grin when Loki visibly took a step back.

“Wait. You…you’re actually asking me out?”

Fandral nodded. “I am.”

Loki looked thoroughly confused. “Does Thor know about this?”

Fandral frowned, playfully, and pursed his lips. “No…was I supposed to ask his permission first?” Loki narrowed his eyes, his face darkening instantly. Fandral could barely contain his smile. “Is it so hard for you to believe I want to take you out on a date?”

“Well…yes.”

“Why? Look, I know Thor will want to have words with me. And that’s fine. But he’s not the one I’m trying to impress. Or who’s permission I’m seeking.” Turning serious, Fandral dropped the charming act and stepped closer. He held out his hand to Loki, who eyed it suspiciously. Fandral lifted his brows, a silent  _ please _ , and Loki slipped his hand into it. “I think you’re amazing, Loki. And if you’re not willing to see all the wonderful things about yourself…” Fandral raised his other hand to Loki’s face, brushing a strand or two of jet black hair aside. “Then I will gladly hold a mirror to your face and show you.”

Loki was frozen with shock. He hoped his palm was cold or clammy or sweaty. He didn’t move for several seconds, except the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed thickly.

Fandral brushed his thumb over Loki’s knuckles, refrained from pressing his lips to them — barely — and released it. “Why don’t you think about it on your walk home? I’ll give you a call tonight for your answer. If you don’t mind.” He stepped closer, laying a hand on Loki’s arm, the one holding his heavy math book against his chest, pausing just beside Loki’s cheek. “May I?”

Loki’s eyes went wide as saucers for a second. “Uh....yea—sure.” They closed as Fandral brushed his lips across Loki’s cheek. 

“Bye, Loki.”

“Bye,” he mumbled, sure that Fandral didn’t even hear it. Loki watched Fandral walk toward his street, still blindsided by the events of the afternoon after school. He turned, to start toward his own street, his own house, and his smile grew with each step until he was smiling so wide, his cheeks began to ache.


End file.
